Project Overview:• Transform the vision of Bells Ferry LCI Plan into a regulating plan
• Delineate different zones for growth and development• Provide best practices to guide design

BELLS FERRY COMMUNITY DESIGN GUIDELINES

Cherokee County, Georgia

The Bells Ferry Community Design Guidelines was produced by TSW for Cherokee County, Georgia, in 2006. It is a supplemental study to the Bells Ferry Livable Centers Initiative (LCI), a previous study coordinated by Cherokee County and completed in 2005. As part of the redevelopment plan for the area, Cherokee County adopted a Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) Ordinance for the Bells Ferry Study Area and asked TSW to develop the Community Guidelines as a complement to the ordinance.

TSW reviewed the draft of the ordinance calibration to the Bells Ferry area and tested it against a proposed development concept that we were designing for a private developer. In light of that, the process of developing the Community Design Guidelines was one more step towards the creation of a set of regulations to ensure that development reflects consistent principles of good urban design, and creates an attractive environment that will encourage investment in the area.

The main objective of the Community Design Guidelines was transforming the vision of the Bells Ferry Corridor formed by the LCI Study Plan into a Regulating Plan and a set of general standards and best practices. The Regulating Plan delineates the location of Neighborhood Zones, neighborhood nodes, shopfront, and shows possibilities of street networks and civic spaces. The General Standards contain both regulations and best practices for the whole area and each Zone, including architecture, driveway and parking, landscape and streetscape, and environmental among others. The document is an implementation tool that will ensure that new development is compatible with the surrounding areas and creates a pleasing and stable environment through economically viable land utilization. Finally, the document refines public projects contained in the LCI study.